Caesarean Section

At OBGYN matters we are keen to promote choice for women. Most women will choose to try and have as natural a birth as possible, however, an increasing number of women are now making an informed choice to have an elective caesarean section. This decision has now been supported by NICE and we fully support this choice. Both Dr Christian Barnick and Dr Alison Wright have very extensive experience in performing Caesarean sections. Between them they have delivered more than 5,000 babies by Caesarean Section!

A Caesarean section can be a very positive experience and we do our best to make it as pleasant and relaxed as possible. Almost all our women have epidural or spinal anaesthesia and are awake for the birth. We encourage women and their partners to watch the baby being delivered, we can delay cord clamping if desired and we encourage skin to skin contact with the baby whilst the Caesarean is completed. The baby is normally delivered within just a few minutes and is then given to mum and dad to cuddle if that is what they wish. The rest of the operation then takes about another 30 minutes. We like husbands to come into the operating theatre (it really isn’t that bad!), they can be very supportive, take lots of pictures and need to be there to share the experience (they may even wish to cut the cord). We ask couples if they have any particular, personal wishes and to bring their own music to make the atmosphere as relaxing as possible.

We felt that this relaxing and pleasant atmosphere might be best illustrated by some pictures, kindly supplied (and used with permission) by one of our recent customers.

The surgery has started. Everyone seems relaxed!

The parent look on as the baby is delivered!

The Caesarean continues whilst Dad looks after the baby

The Caesarean section has been completed.

Proud new mum and her baby go to recovery together.

There is surprisingly little pain following the Caesarean and we encourage women to get up out of bed as soon as they feel able. For most women this means the morning after the surgery.

Most women will then stay in hospital for 3 nights to give them and chance to recover and get to know their baby. There are excellent facilities at the Portland and there is lots of help with childcare and in particular breast feeding.

Some Pregnant women may choose to transfer to our care later in pregnancy if they need to have a Caesarean section because medical complications have arisen. If a Caesarean Section is required for medical reasons then this may be fully or partially covered by medical insurance.

Following consultation and assessment, we plan the admission date for Caesarean section at the Portland hospital and give all the information required for admission.